GE, Titagarh tie up for rail infrastructure

New Delhi, July 23 (UNI) GE Equipment Services and Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL) today tied up to advance the country's rail infrastructure. GE has made an investment in (TWL), receiving 15 per cent of its equity.

However both the companies have not disclosed the investment amount for the said partnership.

''We are looking at multiple markets for the investments but we will be disclosing the amounts in the near future,'' GE Equipment Services President and Chief Exective Officer (India) Dhananjay Nalawade told reporters here.

GE Equipment Services, a global provider of financing, maintenance and asset intelligence services for transportation assets, and (TWL), a leading railway wagon manufacturer in the country, intends, to serve all aspects of the country's infrastructure the movement of raw materials and finished goods with financing, operating and monitoring services.

This is the company's first equity investment in the Indian transportation sector. As a result, equipment services will have preferred access to Titagarh-manufactured wagons, as railcars, which it will lease to the Indian Railways and private shippers in the country.

The company will also become the preferred provider of vendor financing for Titagarh.

With GE's investment, TWL plans to step up the pace of manufacturing and make more wagons available, more quickly.

''We want to give value added services to the customers with this alliance and we are setting up manufacturing facility for the passenger wagons,'' TWL Managing Director Umesh Chowdhary told reporters.

The two companies will also explore a variety of ways to improve rail transport, including incorporating GE's forthcoming VeriWise RAIL asset management technology in the manufacture of future wagons.

VeriWise RAIL will enable railways and shippers to locate specific cars and monitor their condition and the condition of their freight, thereby helping to enhance the visibility, security and productivity of the rail system.

TWL is also industry partner to the Defence Research and Development Establishment, Indian Ministry of Defence.

The company generated a turnover of Rs 320 crore last fiscal.

UNI